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Friday, August 15, 2008

CAMERA Is Saying There Is No Palestine, AGAIN

The ever ready indefatigable zionist CAMERA (Committee for "Accuracy" in Middle East Reporting in America) is at it again. This time, their latest blog post concerns the NBC Olympics website where Palestine is listed as a country. It's a short post titled "NBC Olympics Web Site Awards West Bank to “Palestine”

There is currently no state of Palestine, and no international border between Israel and Judea and Samaria (aka West Bank). The borders and territory of any future Palestinian entity are disputed. However, the NBC Olympics Web Site includes a map showing Judea and Samaria (the West Bank, along with with the Gaza Strip) as part of a country called “Palestine.” Conversely, a map of Israel is shown minus that territory. In other words, NBC mapmakers are playing political arbiters and have awarded the disputed territory to the Palestinians.

The Palestine country page shows:

PLE.jpg

The Israel country page shows:

ISR.jpg

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Now, let's go to the NBC Website and see what it REALLY says concerning Palestine( which as you will read, is not flattering to Palestine, blaming the Palestinians for the lack of transition to statehood, but that isn't sufficient to CAMERA, NO, they have to say there's NO SUCH THING as Palestine, it is instead, "Judea and Samaria, typical Eretz Israel Zionist lexicon)

Often called the "Holy Land." A historic region of southwest Asia between the eastern Mediterranean shore and the Jordan River, comprising parts of modern Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Israel has handed most of the Gaza Strip and seven West Bank population centers to Palestinian rule under a process set in motion by the historic Israel-PLO peace deal in 1993.

In the late 1990s, the PLO and Israel agreed to expand The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), headed by Yasser Arafat, was founded in 1964 and is recognized by the United Nations as the government of the Palestinians. After a three-year hiatus, negotiations to determine the future of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank began in September 1999 but were cut off in September 2000 after violence broke out in both regions.

In April 2003, United Nations, European Union, United States and Russian officials announced the "Road Map to Peace," which outlined the steps that Israel and Palestinian authorities would have to take to achieve peace - including the creation of an independent Palestinian state - by 2005. The path was stymied along the way, as Palestinian authorities were unable to stop anti-Israeli terrorism and Israel's military struck back against Palestinians with force. But in 2005, all Israeli settlers were evacuated from the Gaza Strip and control was transferred to the Palestinian Authority.

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Let's see what the NBC Olympics website has to say about Israel:

Located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea and is bordered to the west by Egypt, to the east by Syria and Jordan, and to the north by Lebanon. Proclaimed its independence in 1948 as the state of Israel.


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Maybe CAMERA is just upset because there is more written on the Palestine page even if it isn't flattering then there is on the Israel page!

CAMERA wrote, "no international border between Israel and Judea and Samaria"

What is that HUGE apartheid wall all about then? Oh yes, it's a border on one side, walling the Palestinians in and appropriating their lands seeking to establish "facts on the ground" in any possible future peace deal, but it is ONE WAY border which Israel controls. But it IS a border which Israel CLAIMS as a "security fence" and an ILLEGALLY built one also. Israel's OWN recent "peace offer" "gives" the land on the OTHER side of the apartheid wall to the PALESTINIANS. (sarcasm concerning "gives" intended)

Maybe CAMERA would be happier with a current more detailed map of the West Bank with all the ILLEGAL Israeli settlements there!
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Now, just in case anyone from the eager beaver CAMERA comes to visit, they might want to know something concerning PALESTINE'S participation in the Olympics. On my prior post, "Palestine's Olympic Team", I was asked the following in my comment section by "William"

I thought only countries were able to enter teams in the Olympics? Palestine is not a country. How are they able to enter the Olympics? Are there any other non-countries participating in this way?


My response:

Hi William,
Here's the answer to your question:

Palestine was so excited about the possibility of competing in the Olympics that a Palestinian Olympic Committee was one of the first things established after the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed a peace agreement on the White House lawn in October 1993. Even though the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is not a state, its status as an independent territory makes it eligible for the Olympics. For years, Israel blocked any recognition of “Palestine” arguing it was not a sovereign nation, yet non-sovereign nations like Puerto Rico, for example, which is an American territory, have a tradition of participation, Ray Hanania wrote in Mideast Youth (http://www.mideastyouth.com) on August 9.
http://www.palestine-pmc.com/det...p?cat=1& id=1958

They first participated in 1996 in Atlanta and have sent athletes to each summer Olympics since.

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CAMERA, please go back to the NBC Olympics site and check out Puerto Rico! They are listed under COUNTRIES with their OWN FLAG and PAGE! WITH the explanation just like the page for Palestine gives.

So wasn't that a whole lot of huffing and puffing for NOTHING? Or maybe you have a beef with NBC over Puerto Rico too! (and for Israel's recent "peace offering" "giving" the land on the OTHER side of the apartheid wall to PALESTINE-of course with major settlement blocks they insist on keeping which "gives" the Palestinians a swiss cheese state still at Israel's "mercy".)
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OH MY GOODNESS CAMERA, I think you need to contact the US Department of State concerning the map they have of Israel! They don't have the West Bank marked as Palestine, but they certainly don't have it marked as Israel either, JUST LIKE as you wrote on your blog concerning the NBC map, "Conversely, a map of Israel is shown minus that territory. AND for the purposes of the map for the NBC website, they were giving a map of the area-the West Bank (and Gaza) which the PALESTINIAN Olympic team represents.

Look closely at the State Department's map, they have a "*" next to "West Bank" stating, "Israeli OCCUPIED with current status subject to the Israeli Palestinian interim agreement"


Israel map and flag


Huff and puff til you blow your own house down CAMERA! PALESTINE is participating in the Olympics and accusing NBC of being "mapmakers (are) playing political arbiters is a WEE bit of a stretch.

And just in case you haven't seen, here are two beautiful pictures of PALESTINE'S Olympic team carrying THEIR flag.

Palestine, may you SOON be FREE!

[palestine.jpg]

[Palestine2.jpg]









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